Valentine’s Day is usually a performance of the obvious. Those overpriced red roses, heart-shaped boxes, and the predictably cutesy copy thrown in with some borderline abusive cards masquerading as ‘banter’. And I’m not saying I don’t enjoy it – I am but a marketer’s dream buying into the sweet as sugar celebrations. Heart shaped balloons? I’ll have two. A chocolate bear? Oh, be still my little love-filled heart! But in substance, it’s what I like to call buttercream branding – a term I thought up whilst delicately devouring the fifth slice of my mum’s birthday cake this February (Fast 800 who?). But what is buttercream branding, exactly? Well, it’s light, disposable, and gone by tomorrow morning. Delicious while it lasts, but dissolved in one tasty bite.
Today we’re talking about brand obsession but with a Valentine’s twist. I can’t resist. But unlike Valentine’s day, this level of brand loyalty isn’t a performance. It’s an obsession. And obsession is never an accident; it’s carefully engineered.
When ‘no’ becomes a luxury word
The most seductive brands in the world don’t beg. Just like the most seductive people. They don’t flood the room with noise. They don’t need to be loud to be noticed. Instead, they build an invisible velveteen rope.
Think of a brand like Hermès. You can’t simply sashay into one of their boutiques and buy a Birkin like you’re popping into Primark for a pair of pyjamas (have you seen the new collection? Dreamy). No, there’s a gatekeeper, a process, and a distinct lack of desperate marketing. Their voice isn’t a shout; it’s a calm, authoritative presence. They understand that true luxury and brand obsession isn’t about being available to everyone – it’s about being indispensable to the right people.
When your brand voice is too eager, too generic, you lose your gravity. You become part of the vast, white void of monolithic marketing. Just like dating. Are you one of the many fish swimming around in the murky depths, or have you abandoned the sea in favour of the shore?
Architecting the intimacy for brand obsession
To move away from that stalemate (literally), you have to stop writing for the masses and start writing for the individual – your target customer. Heck, you can even apply this to your Bumble profile if you so wish. Intimacy in branding isn’t about being sweet or adopting the ‘friends with everyone’ mentality – it’s about being specific.
Generic copy is forgettable, but specific copy – the type of copy that understands the hidden pain points and the quiet desires of a high-end audience, or your Prince Charming, creates an immediate connection that’s entirely irresistible.
And you don’t need to fill every gap with jargon. White space is your friend. Sometimes, the most powerful thing a brand can do is say less, but say it with more weight. Commit with conviction. Be a little elusive at times. Ooh mysterious.
The Valentine’s intervention
Don’t let your brand, or yourself, be the one chasing the crowd. Stop being the strawberry cream in the box, or, Lord forbid, the Bounty (that one really sets people apart, right?) – the one everyone sees, but nobody actually wants.
Instead, build that velveteen rope. Refine your voice until it has the thrum of quality that makes the right audience stop in their tracks. Because the most effective copy, the kind that actually converts, is the kind that knows its own worth.
Because self worth is sexy
But this isn’t just about the brands we build – since it’s Valentine’s Day, today’s post is also about the standard we set for ourselves.
This day of love is a loud reminder of what we’re told we should want, but the most important relationship you’ll ever manage is the one with your own worth. If you spend your days trying to be palatable to everyone yet inauthentic to yourself, you’ll burn out quicker than that cheap knock-off Jo Malone candle that you thought was a good idea until it turned your wallpaper black.
Knowing your worth means having the conviction to say ‘no’ to the projects (and the people) that don’t set your pulse racing. It means refusing to let your personality shine for fear of bruising a few inflated egos. Whether in the boardroom or the dating pool, the right ones will stay.
Whether it’s a Birkin or a brand-new strategy (for your business or your personal branding) the value isn’t in the availability, it’s in the rarity. This year, give yourself the luxury of the velveteen rope. Demand the precision you give to others, and remember that the most magnetic thing you can be, as a brand or an individual, is entirely, unapologetically, indispensable.
Because if you don’t know your worth, how can you expect anybody else to?
Leave a Reply